bankruptbankrupt2 verb [transitive]BMONEYto make a person, business, or country bankrupt or very poor syn ruinJohns had been nearly bankrupted through a failed business venture.→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

bankrupt• Twice he was bankrupted, and he was never successful.• Johnny Haynes's £100 a week neither bankrupted Fulham nor killed the game.• There are fears the new law could bankrupt some small businesses.• He realized that it would bankrupt the company if he continued the expansion.• There are already 80 casinooperations and owners fear the star's Vegas-style resort will bankrupt them by luring away gamblers.• After the 1982 recession virtually bankrupted them, many states adopted the practice.• But cost-containment programs will force people to grapple with it, because healthcare is bankrupting us.• What are they trying to do, bankrupt us?